After the Mask of Zorro, it’s the Mask of Sorrow in Delhi. Last week, the Indian cricket team thumped Sri Lanka on Feroz Shah Kotla grounds. Undoubtedly, Kohli and his killers with the willow are record-breaking champions and do not need an outside agency to help them win a match. This time they did get it, unsolicited, from an unlikely source: air pollution.
Viewers were treated to the bemusing sight of the Sri Lankan Test team wearing masks on the field. A bowler doubled up and upchucked on the green as the level of particulate matter in Delhi’s air stayed in the “very poor” category at 301-400. However, poor air quality does not daunt our own brave players who are used to pollution the way Mohammad Azharuddin was used to bookies.
So why all this fuss?, as a BCCI mandarin asked. Indians are an immune lot, used to pollution in food, medicines, water supply and dairy products. Don’t forget pollution of other kinds: corruption, corporate defaulters like Vijay Mallya, caste wars and gangrapes. So, what’s a cricket match?
Moreover, the unfortunate Lankan team, which was gasping for breath, and match runs, was not at the receiving end of just the smog. Ready to defend the nation’s honour from outsiders, never mind the fact that thousands in Delhi are daily exposed to outdoor death, infuriated social media warriors condemned the Sri Lankans for masking up. BCCI President CK Khanna warned, “If 20,000 people in the stands did not have a problem and the Indian team did not face any issue, I wonder why the Sri Lankan team made a big fuss. I will need to talk to the secretary and ask him to write to the Sri Lanka Cricket board.” What? Now, do we have to be proud of our pollution too? Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly even saw a plot behind the mask. “Why did they not wear masks while batting and only while fielding?” he asked like a flanneled Byomkesh Bakshi. Dada, by now you must have the foggiest notion that a player has to run a helluva lot more while fielding than batting. Never mind that Arvind Kejriwal runs Delhi, Sourav’s fellow Bengali Mamata Banerjee used the cricket mask fiasco to mock Narendra Modi for his Swachh Bharat claims. Now, irony of ironies, India’s capital city has to depend on Cyclone Ockhi to sweep way the toxic fumes in the atmosphere! See the tears in the eyes of the Met? And no, this time it’s not PM 2.5. They are tears of joy.
The government is trying to figure how to stop crop burning in neighbouring states of Delhi without upsetting farmer vote banks. In the Great Smog of London in December 1952, over 4,000 people died in one day. This prompted the UK Government to pass the Clean Air Act in 1956, banning the burning of polluting fuels in “smoke control areas” across Britain. Last month, the AAP government imposed the Odd-Even policy for cars in Delhi as a pollution control measure. The politically motivated move, since it excluded the 55 lakh two-wheelers which are the biggest polluters, was sensibly shut down by the NGT.
Delhi is India’s crown jewel. People who represent the pride of India live here—the highest political leadership, the bureaucracy, the creative community, judiciary, media, diplomats and academicians. It is also the frequent destination of corporate sultans with agendas. Crying conspiracy at a bunch of poor masked cricketers protecting their lungs is not a matter of pride for Delhi, or for that matter, India. Starting with Swachh Dilli would go a long way in establishing Swachh Bharat across the country.
ravi@newindianexpress.com
Ravi Shankar